Buckle.



J. F. YOUNG & F .A. LIBBY. BUCKLE. APPLIOATION FILED JUNE 12, 1907.

f ffii/44414747!! m Patented Jan. 19, 1909.

W/ TNE SSE S UNITED STAS ETNT OFFICE.,

JOSEPH FREDERICK YOUNG AND FREDERICK AUGUSTUS LIBBY, OF MORRISTOWN, NEW

. JERSEY. A

BUCKLE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 19, 1909.

Application filed Tune l2, 1907. Serial No. 378,1l'72.

To all whom 'it may concern:

Be it known that we, JOSEPH F. YOUNG and FREDERICK A. Liner, citizens o'l the United States, and residents of Morristown, in the county of Morris and State ot New Jersey, have invented new and usetul lmprovements in Buckles, of which, the following is a. full, clear, and exact description.

This invention is an improvement in buckles, more especially designed for the traces of harness, heavy straps and other stiff materials in connection with which buckles are used. It is often diiiicult to withdraw the tree end of a strap of this nature from the keeper and disengage it from the tongue ot the buckle in view of its small flexibility. This ditliculty is overcome by our invention by providing the strap with a bodily removable keeper, which is held when in operative position by a latch connected with the buckle tongue and operating to withdraw and project the tongue to and from the buckle trame, whereby the said tongue is easily disengaged and engagcd with the strap.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specilication, in which similar characters ot reference indicate corresponding part-s in all the views.

Figure 1 is a central longitudinal section through the preferred form of our improved buckle; Fig. 2 is a plan ot' the same partly in section, illustrating the connect-ion between the latch for the keeper and the buckle tongue; Fig. 3 is a cross section on the line 3 3 of Fig. 1, looking in the direction of the arrow; F ig. el is a perspective view of a trace connection embodying our improvement; Fig. 5 is a section on the line 5 5 of Fig. l.

In carrying` out our invention we employ a buckle composed of the usual or other preferred form ot buckle frame 10, having a tongue 11, the latter being extended and slidably mounted between the layers of a strap or trace 12 with which the inner crossbar of the buckle frame is connected; for this purposeis cut in the intermediate layer of the trace or strap, a slot 18. rlhe top layer o1" the strap, near the buckle, is rabbeted at opposite edges as indicated at 14, and receives the flanged sides of a casing 15 which is secured in place by screws or other projections 1G at one end, the said projections being preferably formed by turning the flanges ot the casing into the plane of its top face.

Adapted to fit over t-he casing 15 is a 50 keeper 17, composed of a plurality of loops o1 sheet metal provided with an outer covering oi leather 1S which is riveted or otherwise affixed thereto, the said loops being rigidly connected together at their lower free ends by the inwardly turned flanges 19, which are also preferably covered with leather on their bottom faces by extending the covering 1S, and are covered on their top taces by leather strips 18a. The distance be- 70 tween the opposed edges of the llanges 19 is such that the keeper snugly lits over the top of the casing 15, and may be slid slightly vforwardly to engage the forward extremities of the flanges 19 underneath the projections 16 and thus securely lock this end of the keeper in place. The opposite end of the keeper is locked by the diagonally-projecting corners 01"' an angular sheet metal latch 20, pivotally connected to the top of the casing 15 at its rear end on a stud or pivot 21.

The remaining diagonal corners of the latch 20 are extended to respectively provide an operating handle 22 and a catch Q3, 85 the latter being constructed with an inwardly turned extremity 2st, as best shown in Fig. 1, which engages when the latch is in locked position with a slot 25 formed in the tcp of the casing 15. rlhe top of this casing is also slotted and cut out at one side adjacent to the slot 25, as best shown in Fig.

f2, to provide for the free movement of a link 26 which is provided with oppositely turned ends in pivotal engagement with t-he tongue 11 and latch 20; one or more openings 27 being :formed in the inner end of the tongue for this purpose, which permits of an adjustable connection between these parts.

To disengage the tongue of the buckle from the free end of the strap or trace, and simultaneously therewith release it from the keeper, it is only necessary to withdraw the handle 22 to one side sufficiently to remove the diagonal projecting corners orn the latch from over the flanges of the keeper, when the latter may be bodily removed; by then moving the handle of the latch in the same direction until it is approximately in the equivalent devices, and is provided with i dotted position indicated in FiO. 2, the

buckle tongue will be wholly retracted from the free end oi'' the strap which may be easily slid through the buckle frame. In connecting the free end of the strap or trace with the buckle, and passing it under the keeper, the same is accomplished by a reverse operation.

The invention as shown and described al though being our preferred, practical form of the invention, may obviously nevertheless be materially modified within the scope of the claims annexed.

Having thusdescribed our invention, we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent:

1. The combination of a buckle, having a sliding tongue, a strap connected to the buckle, a detachable keeper carried by the strap, and a unitary device operable to lock the keeper and slide the tongue.

2. The combination of a buckle, having a frame and a sliding tongue, a strap connected to the buckle, a detachable keeper carried by the strap, and a latch connected to the said sliding tongue and having means for locking the keeper in place.

3. The combination of a buckle, having a sliding tongue, and a bodily removable keeper, and means for sliding the tongue and locking the keeper.

4. The combination of a buckle, having a sliding tongue, a strap connected to the buckle, having a slot formed therein for the reception of the inner end of the tongue, a casing carried by the strap covering said slot, an operating device pivoted to the casing, and a link connecting said device with said tongue.

5. The combination of a buckle, having a sliding tongue, a strap connected. to the buckle, a casing attached to the strap and covering the inner end of the tongue, a keeper having inwardly turned flanges adapted to be seated over said casing, an angular latch having diagonal corners adapted to be passed into the path of said flanges and lock the keeper in place, and means connecting said lat-ch to said tongue.

6. The combination of a buckle, having a sliding tongue, a strap connected to the buckle, a casing carried by the strap, having projections at opposite sides, a keeper adapted to be seated over said casing and engaged at one end with said projections, and a latch connected with said tongue, adapted to lock the opposite end of the keeper in place.

7 The combination of a buckle, having a displaceable tongue, a strap connected to the buckle, a casing carried by the strap, having projections at opposite sides, a keeper having inwardly turned flanges adapted to be seated over said casing and engaged with said projections, a sheet metal latch adapted to overlie the flanges of the keeper and lock it in place, and a link connecting the latch with the tongue.

In testimony whereof we have signed our names to this specification in the presence of Y two subscribing witnesses.

JOSEPH EREDEECK YOUNG. FREDERICK AUGUSTUS LIBBY.

lVitnesses:

JOHN T. LITTLE, M. l. Norris. 

